Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Monday, November 23, 2009

Press release is considered to be one of the most important written office document, especially if you are working in a growing and active company and if you work as a public relation officer.

So what is exactly a press release? And why is it so important?

Press release, or sometimes referred to as news release is used as a media publication tool, an organization uses this document to inform the media of what’s going on within the company with hopes that it would be published by the said media.Press release is a very important tool when your organization is conducting an event, product launching, celebrations, or even when dealing with a crisis.

When writing a press release, it should be clear, concise, and straight to the point. The media does not concern complex and beautiful writing, they just want to get the main point on the news. Therefore, press releases should be written with short paragraphs, where the first paragraph must introduce whole story with Proper grammar and punctuation and avoid cliché, jargons, and technical terms. The relese MUST consist of 5W 1H:

What is happening?

Who is involved?

When is it happening?

Where is it happening?

Why it happened?

How did it happen?

The accepted universal layout for a press release includes:

A heading

An address

Date of release

Including contact details

ENDS to indicate the end of release

EMBARGO if necessary

What is an embargo?

An embargo in a press release means that the release of the publications is delayed until the requested date and time. An embargo is usually used on a news when there is going to be a planned simultaneous announcements across multiple time zones, and also for major political speech where journalist had been given the script beforehand.

So, if you’re planning to become a successful PR, you better learn how to write a great eye catching press release!